1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to robots, specifically ones to provide useful aid to humans by performing household or industrial tasks. Such robots are limited by their use of wheels and/or tracks, which restricts their usefulness. A variety of alternate propulsion designs have been developed with limited practical success due to the complexity and cost. The goal of these devices is to deliver a simple and cost effective efficient propulsion system which will emulate a walking motion which is important for different terrain situations having unstable surfaces and the ability to climb inclines, walls or steps which usually defeats track or wheeled vehicles to a certain extent.
2. Description of Prior Art
As noted, a number of prior art robot propulsion systems have been developed with most utilizing a wheeled or modified track system as well as some bipedal and multiple leg configurations, see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,832,132, 5440,916, 5,685,383, 6,068,073, and 6,463,356.